Because they prevent the spread of smoke, fire, and poisonous gases, fire door assemblies are an essential component of a building's passive fire protection system and they need regular inspection. The assembly will eventually need to be maintained, adjusted, repaired, or replaced. Defects may prevent the opening protection from operating correctly in a fire if they are not fixed. Inspections of fire doors guarantee that they will work as intended and tested. Requirements for routine fire door assembly inspections (FDAI) have been included in NFPA 80 - Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives from its 2007 version. The inspection standards have changed and been extended in each of the succeeding versions. The inspection requirements are made enforceable by the Authority Having Jurisdiction when an approved code makes reference to one of these NFPA 80 editions (AHJ). By making reference to NFPA 80 2007, the 2009 version of the International Fire Code was the first to include these criteria. Numerous concerns regarding the inspection process have been raised as a result of increased execution of the fire door inspection standards. 
The accepted building code is applicable to structures while they are in the design and construction stages, but the adopted fire code is normally enforced for existing structures. The most popular construction code in the United States, the International Building Code (IBC), makes reference to NFPA 80 for the installation of fire door assemblies: Opening protectives that are mandated by other parts of this code must adhere to its requirements and be installed in line with NFPA 80. As of the 2013 revision, NFPA 80 mandates that fire doors, fire windows, and fire shutters, be examined and tested after the installation as well as after maintenance. By way of reference, in addition to the ongoing yearly inspections mandated by the fire code, the 2015 version of the IBC and later editions require fire door assemblies to be examined once they are installed. The model codes make reference to NFPA 80, which contains the specific requirements. Annual inspection requirements would be located in the fire code rather than the building code since the accepted fire code is normally enforced throughout the duration of the structure. The International Fire Code (IFC) or NFPA 1 - Fire Code, which incorporates NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code, is adopted by the majority of states. 
Always check the local fire code before making any decisions since some states and local governments alter the model regulations. Look for references to NFPA 80 as well as the fire door maintenance and inspection standards. In line with NFPA 80, for instance, opening protectives in fire-resistance-rated components must be examined and maintained, according to the IFC. In addition to thorough information that is in line with NFPA 80, NFPA 1 also contains supplementary instructions in Annex A. In Chapter 8, NFPA 101 makes reference to the inspection and testing requirements of NFPA 80: Installation, inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire door assemblies must all be done in line with NFPA 80. When it comes to fire door component inspections, the model codes and NFPA 80 do not make a distinction between various occupancy types; the inspection standards are the same for fire doors in all kinds of buildings. Enforcement, nevertheless, could differ regionally. Since the introduction of NFPA 101-2012 in 2016, healthcare institutions that accept money from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are required to perform and record fire door assembly inspections. It is possible that hospitals within that jurisdiction should complete fire door inspections owing to CMS regulation even if a local or state fire marshal is not consistently enforcing the yearly inspection requirements. 
According to NFPA 80, visual inspections and validation testing must be carried out by a certified individual who is familiar with the kinds of assemblies being examined. A qualified individual is one who has the skills, information, and experience necessary to perform inspections. They may be able to prove their competence by holding a degree, diploma, professional position, or expertise. Although NFPA 80 does not directly mention certification as a requirement, an AHJ may use it to establish if an inspector has the necessary knowledge. Smoke door assemblies must be examined and tested in line with NFPA 80's inspection criteria, according to NFPA 105 - Standard for Smoke Door Assemblies and Other Opening Protectives. It is important to highlight that the inspection standards apply to smoke doors that are mandated by code to conform with NFPA 105, despite the fact that there are other kinds of doors that are popularly referred to as "smoke doors." In line with NFPA 80 and NFPA 105, for instance, the IFC mandates that opening protectives in smoke barriers be examined and maintained. 
Unless the approved code or a local amendment requires the recorded inspections, a "smoke door" is not needed to be examined if it does not need to conform with NFPA 105. A fire door or other feature with a label may be put in a position where an opening protective is not necessary for a number of different situations. It's possible that a door was moved from another opening, the building's layout altered, or a facility simply had labeled doors on hand—especially labeled hollow metal doors or 20-minute wooden doors, where the price difference is negligible but the door is more adaptable. The model regulations do not forbid labeled features where they are not required and do not require routine inspections of these openings, despite the fact that the appearance of a label on a door or framework may be confusing for an AHJ or fire door inspector. Due to NFPA 101's requirement that life safety elements that are evident to the public be preserved or removed if not mandated by code, there has been considerable debate around this. 
Although it seems that this was not the intention of NFPA 101, several AHJs regarded labeled fire door components as life safety elements that are evident to the public. The text "4.6.12.4" in the 2021 version of the Life Safety Code has been changed. The door and the door frame are not needed to adhere to NFPA 80 when they are fitted with a fire protection listing label and are not needed to be fire protection-rated. On the basis of this suggested modification, unnecessary labels might continue to be there without necessitating yearly inspection or maintenance of the aperture as a fire door. As long as the labels are there, certain AHJs may still insist that these apertures be preserved and inspected as fire door assemblies. Depending on the AHJ's regulations, labels may be deleted or covered if it is found that a labeled feature is not necessary for a certain area. It should be noted that labels cannot be reattached after being removed.
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